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Hanging up, Bridget dropped her phone in her lap.Fuck.She was in love. There was no denying it. She’d thought it before, when she’d talked to Jerica for hours on the phone when she had a nightmare and didn’t want to listen to Sarah and Eli, but this…there was no denying this. Bridget was absolutely in love.
Jerica probably didn’t feel the same way about her. Bridget was pretty sure they didn’t stand a chance together, either. Not with the baggage she came with. Though it would fully explain why she wanted to attempt to come out to her parents. Jerica had pushed her to think about it just by her very presence.
Tossing her head back onto the couch, Bridget closed her eyes. First she thought of Jerica, sweet Jerica, with her full lips and soft cheeks with freckles. But her mind immediately turned to their conversation. Jerica’s sister. Domestic violence. She shuddered at the thought. Bridget opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling, but it was too late.
Images of the fights she had broken up between spouses, the beatings she’d seen someone take, knife wounds, gunshot wounds. Shuddering, she kept her eyes open, not wanting to close them and encourage the flashbacks from fully returning.
She was going to have a rough night of sleeping, if she got any sleep at all. Her bet was that she wouldn’t. She’d listen to Eli and Sarah pretend to be quiet, and then she’d lie awake the rest of the night, wishing she could call Jerica and talk to her.
Instead, she was on her own for the entire night, and maybe could catch Jerica before she went to work in the morning. Sighing, she debated whether or not to drag her sorry ass upstairs and hang out with the rest of the crowd. Being with people could be a good thing or a bad thing, she couldn’t decide. They’d be a good distraction, but she equally wouldn’t be very good company—which would be a problem.
Both Eli and Karen would no doubt catch on to the fact that Bridget was being cagey and avoiding, and then there would be an inquisition. No, it was better if she just stayed where she was and wallowed by herself. Then no one else would be turned off by her bad mood. Rolling her neck, she tested her muscles. She was back to semi–working out at least, though her wrist would get sore easily.
She grabbed the bottle of water and held it sideways in her fingers, raising her arm up and lowering it in a curl with low weight. She needed the focus. She wasn’t like Eli who could go out into the fields and hang out with the cows. She snorted at the thought of Buddy, one bull she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to hang out with. He scared her, and with good reason.
Bridget continued her exercises, moving on to some of the ones the physical therapist told her to try out. They were going to start working her leg muscles soon, even though she wasn’t completely cleared. She needed to get moving again. Sitting still like a bum was just not her, and it allowed her too much time to think about things she never wanted to think about again.
Shuddering, she turned the water and twisted the lid, downing half the bottle. It was cool against her heated throat, which was exactly what she needed. She finished the bottle in silence. Bridget stayed in the basement alone for hours before she dragged herself to bed and attempted to fall asleep. If the house hadn’t been so full of people, she would have gladly stayed on the couch all night, watching television. Instead, she was back to staring at her ceiling.
* * *
Bridget sat at the dining room table with plates of shit in front of her. Karen leaned over and showed her what to do and then abandoned ship. Bridget stared at all the things and tried to remember what Karen had told her to do, but this was not her strong suit. She didn’t know what she was doing even though Karen had given her step-by-step instructions.
Sarah laughed as she came in from the front of the house, her melodic voice trilling through the living area and dining area. Bridget jerked her head up to see what the cause was, finding Sarah standing with another woman. She knew more people would be arriving, so this must be Sarah’s twin sister.
Grinning, Sarah led her toward the kitchen. “Kara, this is Bridget, one of Eli’s good friends.”
Bridget tried to remember if this was her sister or not, but she couldn’t. Extending her hand, Bridget held it out for Kara to take. “Nice to meet you. I’d stand up and shake your hand, but I’m not as quick on my feet as I used to be.”
Kara’s gaze dropped to Bridget’s leg and then back up. “I can tell. Sarah told me about it.”
“Ah.” Bridget shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t used to people talking about her, not that it was necessarily behind her back, but she wasn’t used to being the center of a conversation. “So you’re Sarah’s sister?”
Kara laughed lightly and shook her head. “No. I’m her best friend. I moved to Garden a few years ago with my daughter.”
“Oh.” Bridget was surprised. “I didn’t realize you were so close.”
“Yeah, I don’t get up here as often as I’d like, but then again, neither does Sarah.” Jabbing Sarah in the ribs, Kara pulled out the chair next to Bridget and sat down. “So tell me what the hell I’m doing.”
Bridget grimaced. “I’m not exactly sure. Karen just kind of left after a really quick explanation.”
“Well, I think we can figure it out. What do you say, Sarah?”
“I guess.” Sarah pulled up her own chair and grabbed one of the small mesh bags. “I just want to point out these were not my idea, but we decided not to fight it.”
“I think it’ll look perfect for the photos.”
“You would know,” Sarah muttered.
Bridget perked up at that. “What do you mean?”
“Kara is a photographer,” Sarah answered. “She’ll be doing the photos the day of.”
“Ah.” Bridget grabbed her own mesh bag. Taking the tablespoon, she grabbed the birdseed and dumped two scoops into the bag. “How many of these do we have to do?”
“Hundreds,” Sarah said, groaning at just the prospect.
Bridget felt the same way. It was going to be a long day of birdseed. She was on her fifth bag before Kara piped up. “I think it’ll be perfect, the wedding day. Remember, the most important thing is that you end up married.”
